Best $100 Video Card

[aster]

I'm looking to upgrade my original GF3 card with an inexpensive DirectX 9 board. My motivation is to be able to play Half Life 2 with decent graphics on my aging Athlon XP 2000+.

I'm looking to stay under $100 or so. What card currently offers the best bang for the buck in this price range? How much video memory should I be looking for 128 or 256mb?

Thanks for any suggestions.
Aster

 

[cleeve]

New: 9600 PRO, hands down. Should be about $110.

Used: your best bet is a used 9500 PRO on ebay, should be about $85. Actually performs quite a bit better than the 9600 PRO, even.

128 megs is great, by the way. 256 megs wouldn't help you in the $100 price range, more memory is only really useful on higher-end cards.

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<b>Radeon <font color=red>9700 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(o/c 332/345)</i>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>3200+</b></font color=red> <i>(Barton 2500+ o/c 400 FSB)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>5,354</b>

 

[sh1ft3d]

You will see a pretty big boost in performance if you're able to stretch your budget to $130 - 140 by purchasing a 9700PRO.

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In just two days, tomorrow will be yesterday.

 

[pauldh]

I agree with both the above posts. And would like to ad one more option. A used Radeon 9700 non-pro would fill the gap between the two solutions Cleeve gave and the 9700 pro. I have seen refurbs for about the same price as the new 9600 pro ($109). Anyway, fastest to slowest, consider these cards as your best under $125 DX9 options.

Used 9700 pro
Used 9700
Used 9500 pro (saw them for $112 new recently, but gone now)
New 9600 pro $110
New 9600 $85
New 9550 128-bit $65

<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=3400555" target="_new"> My</A>
<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=8268935" target="_new">Gamer</A>

 

[MrSneeky]

9600pro

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Antec Sonata
Abit IC7 Max II
P4 3.4E @ 4.0GHz
1GB OCZ Ram PC3200
BFG 6800 OC
160GB Hard Drive
Nec Diamondtron 19''
Thermaltake XP-120, with 120mm fan